Review of Seventh Born by Monica Sanz (digital arc)

Summary:

Abomination. Curse. Murderer. All names hurled at eighteen-year-old Seraphina Dovetail. As the seventh-born daughter to a witch, she’s the cause of her mother losing her powers and, in turn, her life.

Abandoned as a child, Sera dreams of becoming an inspector and finding her family. To do that, she must be referred into the Advanced Studies Program at the Aetherium’s Witchling Academy. Her birth order, quick temper, and tendency to set things on fire, however, have left her an outcast with failing marks…and just what Professor Nikolai Barrington is looking for.

The tall, brooding, yet exceedingly handsome young professor makes her a proposition: become his assistant and he’ll give her the referral she needs. Sera is quickly thrust into a world where witches are being kidnapped, bodies are raised from the dead, and someone is burning seventhborns alive. As Sera and Barrington grow ever closer, she’ll discover that some secrets are best left buried…and fire isn’t the only thing that makes a witch burn.

My thoughts:

I really enjoyed the magic in this story.

Sera is the seventh-born daughter to her witch mother. The seventhborns take their mother’s magic which in turn kills them. Seventhborns were looked upon as bad for a long time, beaten, and even killed. While this changed a bit, they are still looked at as less than human. Most people won’t even talk to them. Sera was taken in to a school with a program for seventhborns. Most of the kids are horrible to her. Even the teachers are. She does have one best friend, Mary.

Sera has no real memory of her life except the past two years. She wants to become an inspector and find her family. She does remember Noah. Noah took her in and was nice to her at first. But then he began taking her power and abusing her. Sera set fire to his house with him inside, but she still fears him.

Professor Barrington is an inspector that asks Sera for her help. It has to be kept secret, but he promises to give her a referral which she knows she won’t get from anyone else. Barrington is looking into murders of other witches. He sees the potential in Sera, even when she struggles to control her emotions and powers. Seventhborns get the second site when they come into their powers and Sera is able to see the ghosts of the dead witches. The investigation is dangerous and Sera has to confront ghosts of her past, too.

The pacing of the book was a bit slow for me, but I did enjoy how descriptive the writing was. The ending felt a bit rushed compared to the lead up, so I do wish that would have been a bit more detailed. But I enjoyed the story, characters, and writing. I really hope we get a book two because there were definitely things left open and unfinished.

There is a bit of a love triangle in a way. Also, the teacher/student relationship was definitely heading towards romantic, but it never quite got there. This didn’t bother me because Sera is eighteen, and this obviously took place in a different time. But just a little warning in case these things bother you.

I gave this book 4 stars. Thank you to netgalley and Entangled Teen for the chance to read this one early.

Is Seventh Born on your TBR? What are some of your favorite witch books?

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Author: confessionsofayareader

I'm Kristi. I'm a wife, mom, and grandma. I have been breeding leopard geckos for ten years. I love to read and have been trying to review more books (the reason for this blog besides wanting to talk about books with everyone). I also love music and going to concerts, mostly punk and pop punk.
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